Black Powder possesses unique characteristics commending its use as a propellant where a high impulse is needed under conditions of poor confinement and poor ignition.
Unfortunately, however, black powder is dangerous to manufacture and store. Therefore, black powder substitutes have been proposed in the propellant art. An example of such compositions is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,443 to Pawlak and Levenson.
Although the proposed prior art compositions possess safety characteristics, they are still pyrotechnic materials and possess handling and storage hazards.